Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has taken the oath of office in neighbouring Senegal, calling for international support as a bloc of West African countries ammased a military force ready to intervene in his favour.
Longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, has refused to step down despite losing a disputed December 1 presidential election, deepening a political crisis.
Barrow, who had recently sought shelter in Senegal, was inaugurated on Thursday in a hastily-arranged ceremony at Gambia’s embassy in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
“This is a day no Gambian will ever forget in a lifetime,” Barrow said in a speech immediately after being sworn in.
Shortly after his inauguration, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution backing efforts by West African states to ensure Barrow assumes power from Jammeh, but stressed that this should be pursued by political means first.
The council’s decision came as the Nigerian army said it was deploying troops to Gambia as part of an operation by ECOWAS, West Africa’s regional bloc, aiming to uphold the result of last month’s vote.
“The Nigerian military will deploy its assets as part of (a) standby force to protect the people of the Gambia and maintain sub regional peace and security,” the armed forces said in a statement.
Culled from Aljazeera
